Positioning:

Software has become the differentiating factor for modern vehicles, industrial production, and consumer products. Data-driven business models, continuous development, and customer interaction are transforming product and service portfolios. New intelligent and connected technologies, collaborative revenue generation, and (cloud-based) platforms require differentiating talent and new agile operating models in development, production, operation, sales, and monetization. Traditionally with a strong focus on production and supply chain excellence, the Automotive industry is undergoing a massive and complex transformation to adapt to this software revolution.

I advise leading Automotive and Technology companies in their digital transformation and apply my differentiating assets: Deep technical background in automotive, communication, and software, experience from founding and managing own companies, strong interim/ task force management skills, work in different cultures on four continents, and experience in industry and strategy consulting.

Summary:

Claus Gruber is Partner at Arthur D. Little, world's oldest Strategy Consulting firm. His main specialization is 'Digital Automotive', the transformation of the Automotive industry towards autonomous and software-defined vehicles. He has 25 years of experience in the Automotive, Telecommunication, and IT industry including 17 years in strategy and management positions. He advises leading Automotive and Technology clients in their digital transformation.

Prior to his work at Arthur D. Little Claus was Senior Director at PwC Strategy&, where he lead the the Automotive Software Team and co-lead the Task Force/ Enterprise Transformation Team, and Managing Consultant at Detecon Consulting, where he was team head for services, strategy and migration. Prior to his work in consulting he was Technology Manager at Nokia Siemens Networks and responsible for Internet and Ethernet products. Claus co-founded two software companies and served in CEO and CTO positions. He leads Contaction GmbH, which focuses on connected contact management.

Claus received Dr.-Ing. and Dipl.-Ing. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology from Munich Universtity of Technology (TUM) and was a member of the teaching staff at the Institute for Communication Networks. He published about 30 articles in journals and conference proceedings and holds about 15 patents in the area of routing, resilience, energy reduction, network planning, optimization and management in the EU, the US and South Korea.

Claus lives in Munich, Germany, loves to travel the world (115+ countries visited), enjoys scuba diving, sailing, and coffee.

Key qualifications:

• 17 years strategy and management consulting experience on four continents
• 8 years industry experience in telecommunication and technology
• 90+ successful strategy and transformation projects for leading Automotive and Technology companies
• Profound expertise in digital innovation, technology and business strategy, R&D excellence, and operating model transformation
• Deep technical background in software, electronics, information technology, and artificial intelligence
• Founder and Managing Director of two software companies with customers such as BMW, Siemens, and Nokia
• Strong interim and task force management skills with the ability to lead 'from shopfloor to topfloor'